Club OLLI Lectures

How to Register for Club OLLI

These registration instructions apply to Club OLLI activities ONLY.
(Course codes beginning with “C”)

Please complete both sides of the Club OLLI Membership and Registration Form and submit it in one of the following ways:

By Mail

• Remove the completed form from the brochure and mail to: OLLI at Sierra College, 5000 Rocklin Road, Rocklin, CA  95677.

By Fax

• Remove the completed form from the brochure and fax both sides to (916) 781-6257, attention: OLLI.

In Person

• Drop off your completed membership and registration form at the OLLI registration office at the Gateway Campus in Roseville or the admissions and records window at the Nevada County Campus.

By E-Mail

• Send an e-mail to: olli@sierracollege.edu
• Include first and last names, student ID, mailing address, phone number and the course code, title and location for each course.

Please note that based on the high number of Club OLLI members, we cannot accept registrations by phone.

If you are a new Club OLLI member, or you need to renew your membership, be sure to submit your membership fee with your registration form to prevent a delay in processing.

Please submit your Club OLLI registration only ONCE, by one of the methods listed above. Submission of duplicate registration forms may result in a delay in processing.

The lectures and activities listed are available to members of Club OLLI.

For only $35 per year for an individual, or $65 per year for a couple, you can enjoy any of our special lectures, along with many other member benefits. Additional lectures and events will be announced on an ongoing basis.

Use the Membership and Registration Form to join today and be put on our advance notice mailing list.

For information on scholarships to cover the membership fee, please call 916-781-6290.

Economics and Finance

Deficits, Inflation, and Recession: How to Invest in Today's Economy

There are a lot of questions investors have today about the economy, such as how big will the deficit grow, will inflation be a problem, and how long will this recession last? Doing nothing may not be the best approach, as even in the worst of times there are investment opportunities. This class will explore today's economic issues and the strategies investors should consider.
Russ Abbott

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C401EF 10/15 - 10/15 Thur 2 PM - 3:30 PM
Room 601

Nevada County Campus
# C801EF 10/29 - 10/29 Thur 2 PM - 3:30 PM
Room N8-108

History and Humanities

Quebec and French North America

The development and lasting influence of French culture in North America, notably Quebec, French Canada, New England, and Louisiana, are explored through historical accounts, social elements and artistic achievements. Major cultural trends and traditions that developed in the areas of literary works, art, music, and farming practices, among others, are analyzed. A unit will be devoted to French and Quebecois cultural influences in California.
Ellen Sander has a BA and MA in French, a BA in Government, and an MA in International Affairs. She has taught for the UC Davis French Department.

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C401HH 9/25 - 10/16 Fri 1 PM - 3 PM
Room 607

Sex Offenders: Can they be successfully treated and socially re-integrated into society?

California has nearly 60,000 registered sex offenders. We will review the term "sex offender," as well as review statute offenses, public policy, political issues, and treatment programs. A video of the Atascadero State Hospital treatment programs will be shown followed by a discussion. All participants are highly encouraged to log into meganslaw.ca.gov and search their zip code for a listing of sex offenders in their area, and print out the listing for class discussion. Bring your sex offender listing to class. This is a mature subject and only persons 18 years of age or older should attend. Please bring a bag lunch, as we will meet through the lunch hour.
Dr. Manuel Roman worked for the State of California as a correctional officer, youth counselor, parole agent, and civil rights officer. He has taught criminal justice at the collegiate level for over 30 years.

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C402HH 10/23 - 10/23 Fri 10 AM - 2 PM
Room 607

John Adams and the American Revolution: The Miniseries and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Book

We will view HBO’s Emmy-winning 7-part epic mini-series and discuss it in light of David McCullough’s masterful biography, John Adams, the often over-looked second President of the United States. It stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams, and explores the first 50 years of our nation. Directed by Emmy-winner Tom Hooper (Elizabeth I), it evokes the period in striking detail and atmosphere. We will also meet George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and a sly Benjamin Franklin.
Stephen Sterling

Nevada County Campus
# C801HH 10/27 - 12/8 Tues 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM (no class 11/24)
Room N15-101

Ken Burns: The War

The War is Ken Burns’ seven part series about World War II, first shown on PBS in 2007, mainly from the point of view of the young men and women who fought it, as well as their loved ones at home. It uses four American cities as a perspective of what went on, including Sacramento, California. As in his past films, Burns uses historical photos and motion pictures as well as commentary from historians, those young men and women at home and overseas (obviously all now quite old), and others. It all packs a dramatic impact that you won’t soon forget.
Curtis Covington

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C403HH 10/29 - 12/10 Thur 1 PM - 4:30 PM (no class 11/26)
Room 601

 

Religion, Philosophy, and Ethics

The Jews: An Anthropological Look at the People - Part 2

Part 2 will look at the Jews from the Diaspora to the present. How the Jews dispersed, how they lived under Muslim rule, and how they thrived in exotic places. How the Germans gave them graves in the air, how the Jews fought back, and how they came home to Israel.
Jerome Pressler has a BA and MA in Geography with minors in Geology and Anthropology. He has been teaching these subjects at community colleges since 1973.

Nevada County Campus
# C801RP 9/15 - 10/20 Tues 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Room N8-108

The Words of Religion

An anthropological look at religious words and their meaning, from their origin to the present day. With a look at their meaning in various religions, modern and ancient, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, plus others.
Jerome Pressler

Nevada County Campus
# C802RP 9/16 - 10/21 Wed 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Room N6-206

Lost Christianities: The Earliest Writings of the Christian Tradition and the Struggle for Truth

This course will look at the early forms of Christianity and show how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. Each of the early Christian groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus, and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims. We will look at that astonishing range of information and its impact on the Christian movement.
Emil Augustine, BA Northcentral University; MA University of Minnesota; M.Div. Luther Theological Seminary; Doctoral Studies, Drew University; Adjunct Faculty, Princeton Theological Seminary; Guest Lecturer, Centenary College.

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C401RP 10/27 - 12/8 Tues 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM (no class 11/24)
Room 601

Lincoln Library at 12 Bridges
# C201RP 10/28 - 12/9 Wed 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM (no class 11/25)
Willow Room

Little Mosque on the Prairie

--- a TV sitcom about how a small Muslim community adapts to living in a fictional prairie town of central Canada. “The show’s primary agenda,” according to its creator, “is to be funny… Comedy is a valuable and powerful way to break down barriers and to encourage dialogue between cultures.” Exploring the universal themes of family, friends, and faith, “Little Mosque” became a hit two years ago in Canada and is now shown in eighty countries. We will view eight half-hour episodes and discuss the questions and important points raised.
Gail Meyer Selcuk has a BA in English and an MA in Education. She taught for over 30 years in public schools around the world, most recently, in Japan, where she made a presentation at Kumamoto University.

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C402RP 11/11 - 12/9 Wed 10 AM - 12:30 PM (no class 11/25)
Room 219

Science, Health, and Technology

Earth, Wind, and Fire

This course will look at the natural disasters that occur each year on Earth. We will look at eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. We will explore how and why each of them occur.
Jerome Pressler

Nevada County Campus
# C801ST 9/17 - 10/22 Thur 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Room N8-108

Mental Fitness: Beginning Mahjongg

Mahjongg, or the Game of Four Winds, is an ancient Chinese tile game similar to Gin Rummy. This class introduces the basics and will prepare students to participate in Club OLLI's year round Mahjongg Club.
Renee Neal

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C402ST 9/16 - 9/16 Wed 2 PM - 5 PM
Room 601

Mental Fitness: Advanced Mahjongg

Renee Neal

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C403ST 10/7 - 10/7 Wed 2 PM - 5 PM
Room 601

Mental Fitness: Mahjongg Club

Exercise your strategy and develop your skill when you practice with fellow Club OLLI members. Members will have a place to meet and practice on a regular basis. Bring your mahjongg set if you have one.

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C401ST 9/16 - 12/9 Wed 2 PM - 5 PM (no class 11/25)
Room 601

Tai Chi Open Practice: Level 1 & 2

This Club OLLI offering gives Tai Chi students the opportunity for open practice between regular sessions.
Renee Neal

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C404ST 8/3 - 9/2 Mon & Wed 9 AM - 10 AM (no class 8/24 or 8/26)
Room 525

Tai Chi Open Practice: Level 3 & 4

Roseville Gateway Campus
# C405ST 8/3 - 9/2 Mon & Wed 10 AM - 11 AM (no class 8/24 or 8/26)
Room 525

 

Tom Fisher's Continuing Series:

CENTRAL AMERICA – EARLIEST CULTURES

This series focuses on two incredibly important cultures; the Olmec and Zapotec. Many consider the Olmec to be the “mother’ civilization of Central America. Located on the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the states of Veracruz and Tobasco, the Olmec area and ruins are rarely visited by other than oil companies and archaeologists due to its remoteness and lesser desirable environment – hot, humid, swampy, often covered with jungle, and with few access roads. The Zapotec are located, for the most part, literally around the large city of Oaxaca in mid-Mexico.

This culture has left more substantial ruins, particularly the spectacular site of Monte Alban. This and associated sites are very accessible by available transportation. The Zapotecs and Maya are nearly neck-and-neck in there age going back some 400 – 600 years B.C., thus, taking 2nd place to the Olmec culture earliest dates of about 1,300 to 1,200 B.C. This set of presentations will examine their history, architecture, layout of sites, stupendous stonework, beautifully carved stele, slabs and altars, sumptuous jade and serpentine objects, and a variety of fantastic art forms/items, painted tombs, and environment.

This series is a must for those truly interested in Central American cultures as they serve as a base (along with the Maya) for the subsequent development of the other major cultures of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Beautiful full color images will be projected side by side onto a huge screen allowing for comparisons and detail amplifications. So come join us as we walk the jungles and highlands of Mexico to visit these spectacular early sites of Mesoamerica and learn of their incredible feats of ‘engineering’, and material workmanship.

OLMEC - Location & Architecture

Emerging reluctantly from the very heart of the swamps and jungles of the Gulf of Mexico, their architecture is slowly being unveiled after being buried for centuries. Mounds have and are now being excavated revealing the earliest prototypes of pyramids, and a myriad of plaza floors of precious stones. Burials, often without human remains, called caches, have been uncovered revealing incredible finds of various artifacts of stone, jade, serpentine, and basalt. These ruins, unspectacular as jungle and dense foliage covered ‘humps’ in the landscape, reveal, upon examination, surprisingly sophisticated layouts, building arrangement and unique structural details. We will see tombs, huge monolithic carved stone blocks, massive stelae and altars dotting the sites landscape. Then we view the beautiful and fascinating arrangement of serpentine stones configured to represent one of their most important religious motifs – the jaguar. We will also examine the first rudiments of writing and one of the earliest calendars yet found in C.A. We close out the session by walking La Venta Park and its many spectacular relocated stone carvings.

OLMEC - Master Artisans

This session focuses on the absolutely incredible precious and general stone works of the Olmec. We must see the phenomenal gigantic stone heads whose function is still debated. And we will examine how these heads and large stones were transported long distances to their sites, then carved and moved to fixed locations. This is a fascinating story as they didn’t have the wheel, no metal tools nor beasts of burden. Next we peruse the plethora of semi-precious stone art pieces including heads, masks, celts, lances, and vessels. Finally, we will view their rare surviving wooden items after examining their unique paintings and variety of anthropomorphic pottery items. A summary and Q&A period will complete our tour of the Omecs.

ZAPOTECS - The Cloud People

Mostly located in the valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotecs built one of the first truly religious centers, and in association, a series of tombs dedicated to their many gods. We will explore the major ruin of Monte Alban situated atop a leveled hill top just outside the city of Oaxaca. Here, at Monte Alban, we find a ball court, possible observatory, plazas, pyramids, raised platforms, underground passages, halls and a variety of incredibly interesting carved ‘slabs’. This is a superb site with gorgeous views and outstanding architecture employing various early-on engineering building techniques and methods.

ZAPOTECS - Tombs, Paintings, Carvings & Pottery

We now will explore Monte Alban’s several tombs, the interiors of which are marvelously painted in gorgeous colors depicting their many gods. Next we examine several of these gods fashioned from clay and stone done in incredible motifs and styles indicating their obsession with a pantheon of earthly and sky gods – truly spectacular in their range and form. Other outstanding objects of stone, jade and various materials will also be perused to show the expanse of their artistic interpretations. Finally, we must examine the Mixtic (a much later culture from this area) jewelry infused into the Zapotec culture near their terminal collapse. These items were of gold and semi-precious materials and are intricate, imaginative, stylish and among the most beautiful and incredible jewelry pieces found in all of Central America. Lastly, we will summarize and have a Q&A period to close out our visit with the Cloud People of Oaxaca.
Tom Fisher had a dual career in aerospace and archeology. Along with working with and designing for NASA astronauts, he has conducted archeological field research in China, Italy, and throughout Central America.

Rocklin Campus
# C901ST 9/18 - 10/9 Fri 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Room D-12

POMPEII & HERCULANEUM

This series depicts the incredible slice in time and corresponding remains of the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum that were nearly obliterated and buried by the 24 August 79 A.D. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This immense eruption covered the town of Pompeii with over 12 feet of pumice and ash, while Herculaneum was overwhelmed by some 65 feet of debris. Our journey to these two sites will cover each site independently yet focus on the buried (and now substantially exposed) remains with special emphasis on the architecture, paintings, mosaics, marble carvings, and household items.

Additionally, we will cover the daily activities of the citizens and their social life interlaced with the many buildings within and adjacent to each town. Architecture from the poorest to the elite will be explored illustrating the typical store below- living quarters behind/above versus the beautiful villas scattered about the town. We will review the absolutely fascinating story behind the bodies encapsulated ‘forever in time’ by the volcanic debris and the efforts of the archaeologists to uncover, preserve and analyze this unique glimpse into the inhabitants of the doomed town so cruelly brought to an end by the eruption.

Particular emphasis will be given to the fabulous paintings, statues, mosaics and art work which, obviously, paralleled that of major cities surrounding the nearby Bay of Naples, and ultimately, of Rome itself. Then let us wander through the exquisite and luxurious gardens in the villas and upper class and the splendor with which they surrounded themselves. Sit back and enjoy the full color huge screen presentations and let yourself slip back some 2,000 years ago into an era of brilliant accomplishment, decadent behavior, and opulent art.

POMPEII – History & Architecture

Our first session opens with an overview of Pompeii and the devastation of the Aug. 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We will see how the town was buried and how it has been brought back to life through careful and methodological excavation, consolidations, and repair. Town layout and architecture are highlighted differentiating between social classes and occupations. Buildings will be examined relative to functions, e.g., spas, public baths, sports complexes, homes/content, bakeries, houses of prostitution, government facilities, water works, laundries, and markets.

POMPEII – Monumental Architecture

In this session we will explore the larger and more elaborate buildings and those dedicated to the many Roman Gods and Goddesses. This includes the many fascinating and gorgeous temples, awe-inspiring amphitheaters, and the sober necropolis. To bring this into perspective, we shall view several structures seen as they were before the eruption and as they are today.

POMPEII – Paintings, Murals, Mosaics & Art

The incredulous artisans skill will be highlighted in this session portraying some of the most beautiful and expressive art comparable to even that of Rome. Exquisite paintings decorate entire rooms in a variety of motifs telling intriguing and revealing stories of the city and its deities, cupids, cherubs, and inhabitants. Even flora and fauna are marvelously exhibited in these polychrome paintings. The mosaics, no less spectacular, also espouse stories and everyday life scenes in a panoply of color and sizes.

POMPEII – Villas & Inhabitants

Our final Pompeii session focuses on unique villas and ‘special’ houses. Here we find the Villa of Mysteries with its incredible painted rooms. We shall examine one room in particular with murals extending around its entire interior. We will take our time viewing and discussing the fantastic scenes one area at a time to reveal this fabulous story of the induction of a candidate into the cult of Dionysus. Next we observe the astonishing entombment of citizens within a blanket of permanent eternity. This extraordinary volcanic action captured individuals in the last throws of their life; straining to hold their breath, yet gasping for air, jostling to hold loved ones, while falling down in contorted positions dying in agonizing pain. These last moments are sadly revealed in the macabre yet strangely fascinating caskets of death. Finally we summarize and have a group Q&A period.

HERCULANEUM – History, Art, Architecture & Death

A brief review of Herculaneum’s history precedes an overview of the Mount Vesuvius’ devastating eruption. Here, we follow several people as they realize the impending disaster and witness their tragic responses. Next, we spring forward and begin an investigation into what happened to the townspeople in a fascinating episode of forensic detective work. Follow me as we explore the variety of architecture resplendent with the city as we visit villas, a theater, the Basilica, and playing field. Walk with us down the age-old chariot wheel rutted streets, stopping often, to peer into the shops, taverns, bakeries, and market areas. Then we look into several residences viewing gorgeous paintings, mosaics, and artwork. Lastly, we will summarize and have a final Q&A to close out our Roman/Vesuvius adventure.
Tom Fisher

Rocklin Campus
# C902ST 10/16 - 11/20 Fri 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM (no class 11/13)
Room D-12

Special Winter 2010 Offering

Ethics in Film

This is our Annual OLLI Film Festival. It is designed to view, evaluate, and discuss important films that are freighted with significant ethical issues. We will try to unlock the deeper conflicts in the films both from a personal as well as an institutional perspective. It gives us the rare opportunity to participate in a setting where contemporary ethical topics can be experienced in community and receive the level of consideration they deserve. Films include A Dry White Season (Rated R, 1989), The Mission (1986), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), and Doubt (2008).

We will view the films from approximately 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., then go to lunch and begin discussion at the nearby and very good cafeteria from approximately 12 to 1 p.m. Following lunch, we will return to D-12 for further discussion of the films, their ethics and morality, atonement and redemption, from approximately 1 to 2 p.m. So prepare yourselves for a very worthwhile and stimulating day.
Team taught by Emil Augustine, Curtis Covington and Stephen Sterling.

Rocklin Campus
# C901RP 1/8/2010 - 1/29/2010 Fri 10 AM - 2 PM
Room D-12